Light up the Shoe. Dust off your Scarlet and Gray. Reserve your Saturday afternoon spot on the sofa!
Few things ignite Ohioan’s pride and competitiveness more than the return of The Ohio State University Buckeyes to the football field every year.
Amidst the tailgate snacking and cornhole tossing you could overlook a darker, more sobering activity: some college sports fans getting caught in the downward spiral of problem gambling.
First, you should know that sports gaming is big business. A 2008 ESPN survey found that about 118 million Americans bet on sports that year. Among college students, only poker is a more popular gambling pastime. Among youth 14-22, sports betting stands out as the gambling favorite.
For most people, putting money on your favorite team or fantasy squad is a relatively harmless pastime. Yet, for some, it leads to increasingly more addictive behaviors — behaviors that can cause young people to overspend and, worse.
At Maryhaven, recognized as one of the best gambling treatment providers in Ohio, our counseling team has helped pick up the pieces when young lives and families are shattered by a disorder now officially recognized as a full-scale addiction, one as uncontrollable as addictions to alcohol or drugs. For example, one father of a college student was shocked to find himself saddled with literally tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt he could not afford because his son had been hiding his problem gambling issues.
And, in fact, male collegiate athletes represent one of the highest at-risk groups for developing a gambling addiction. Research from the National Council on Problem Gambling (ncpgambling.org) identifies several demographic and psychographic contributing elements: being male, highly competitive, 18-24, an athlete with easy access to gambling and money, a family history of addiction and starting at a young age. And it isn’t only college athletes. More than two-thirds of college students also bet on sports.
From Art Schlichter to many other high profile stars, we know the sad consequences of untreated problem gambling. Whether you’re Big Ten, SEC or anything in between, let’s work together to reach problem gamblers before lives are ruined and careers lost.
Young people are worth betting on.
